(AllHipHop News) British rapper Stormzy performed at one of his fans’ father’s funeral after receiving a request on Twitter.

Nas Bockarie’s dad died on December 8th, the same day he graduated as a high school physical education teacher.

After his father’s death, Nas reached out to Stormzy, 24, to ask him if he could perform his track “Blinded By Your Grace” at the funeral, as it was a family favorite.

“Bro my Dad passed away on the day of my graduation last week Friday,” the fan wrote in a tweet to the grime star. “Our favorite song of yours was blinded by your grace. Would love it if you could preform (sic) this at his funeral next Thursday 21st December. Don’t worry if you can’t, I just thought I’d try my luck.”

Stormzy, real name Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, Jr. responded by asking Nas to message him privately, an act which the fan wrote rendered him “speechless.”

Yesterday (December 21, Nas’s friend Deji posted a picture of Stormzy singing at the funeral on Twiter, writing, “Massive respect for @Stormzy1 for honoring this…God Bless You.”

Performing at the memorial is not the rapper’s only generous act this Christmas, as last week he joined the actor Idris Elba in donning a Santa outfit to visit wards at two children’s hospitals in London.

(AllHipHop News) Will Smith is reportedly set to return for a sequel to his new Netflix movie “Bright,” making it the first blockbuster film franchise from a streaming service.

The fantasy buddy cop action-comedy stars Will as a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer forced to partner with a mystical orc, played by Joel Edgerton, to hunt down a nuclear weapon everyone is prepared to kill for.

Bright, which was made on a $90 million budget, launches online and in select theaters today (December 22), and although it’s been savaged by critics, Netflix officials have already ordered a follow-up with Will onboard, according to Bloomberg.com.

It’s not yet known if Edgerton or director David Ayer will also be involved, but the filmmaker has embraced critics’ negative reviews, declaring on Twitter, “Highest compliment is a strong reaction either way.”

Acknowledging that his work often splits opinion, the “Suicide Squad” director continued, “Every movie is a labor of love for me. I’ve never chased the audience, and I know my work can be polarizing. I’ve lived a crazy love and I guess my movies reflect that.”

Even Will is the first to admit the concept for “Bright” is an odd one.

During a pre-taped appearance on Britain’s “The Graham Norton Show,” which airs on Friday night, he said, “It’s really a fun and bizarre action movie. It takes some time to get your head around.”

“It’s ‘Training Day’ meets ‘Lord of the Rings’…,” the “Men In Black” star added to U.S. breakfast show “Good Morning America.”

“If you imagine the creatures from ‘Lord of the Rings’, imagine that was 4,000 years ago, but then all of those creatures came forward into modern day, and now we’re in modern day Los Angeles, but there’s orcs.”

Both Will and Joel were also drawn to the film because of its social commentary.

“In the movie, I’m a black police officer, but my character’s racist against orcs. It’s sort of a flip of social hierarchy,” Will explained, as Joel added, “It’s a fairytale that allows you to talk about stuff that we don’t like to talk about or don’t talk about enough, in terms of how we treat other people in society.”

“We just have to treat each other a little bit nicer,” Will concluded.

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(AllHipHop News) CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse are reuniting after a decade to create a new Gnarles Barkley album.

The singer and producer created two Gnarls Barkley albums, 2006’s St. Elsewhere, which included their biggest hit, “Crazy,” and 2008’s The Odd Couple.

After a decade apart, CeeLo says he and Danger Mouse, real name Brian Joseph Burton, have been working on new material.

“We have already started on a new (Gnarls Barkley) album,” the 43-year-old told DJBooth. “We’re halfway in and we have some overtures from the other projects that may not have stood the test of time, we don’t know yet.”

He revealed that he planned to meet with Danger Mouse at the “top of the year” for an intensive week-long recording session.

CeeLo hopes the swift recording period will emulate the creative process behind their acclaimed 2006 debut.

“That’s pretty much all the time we had to do St. Elsewhere because we were heating up around that time,” he explained.

Since storming the charts alongside CeeLo as Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse, 40, has emerged as one of the world’s most sought-after producers – working on recent albums by Adele, U2, A$AP Rocky and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

(AllHipHop News) Kendrick Lamar’s Damn has been crowned music critics’ favorite record of 2017.

Damn, released in April, roundly beat some of the best-selling albums of 2017, such as Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide), Taylor Swift’s Reputation and Drake’s More Life project, thanks to its combination of self-examination, politics, and commentary on American society.

Female artists did well in the poll, with second place going to Grammy-nominated artists SZA, for her partially-improvised R&B album CTRL, and Lorde, who came third with her sophomore effort, Melodrama.

Kendrick’s album topped a “poll of polls” compiled by BBC News from 30 “album of the year” shortlists, published by the most influential magazines, newspapers and blogs in music – from specialist magazines like Billboard and NME to more mainstream outlets, such as Cosmopolitan and PopSugar.

Records were assigned points based on their position in each list – with the number one album getting 20 points, the number two album receiving 19 points, and so on.

Sheeran’s album only received one point, for a mention from People magazine, who put it in seventh place on their year-end list.

But the Compton-born rapper emerged the clear winner after he took first place on 10 of the polls surveyed by the BBC, with his album garnering 28 poll mentions.

Critics gushed over the 30-year-old’s fourth studio album, with Q magazine dubbing it “a flawless hip-hop masterclass” and Billboard magazine stating: “It is the unimpeachable truth that Kendrick Lamar recorded the greatest album of 2017.”

The poll contained a diverse range of artists including Kelela, Khalid, Charli XCX, Kesha and Tyler, the Creator.

Even excluding non-U.K. publications from the BBC’s survey, Kendrick still held the top spot, but U.K. rappers J Hus, Stormzy and Loyle Carner moved higher up the rankings.

(AllHipHop News) Hip-Hop star Lauryn Hill has been slapped with legal action from a former trombone player over allegations of unpaid wages.

Musician Matthew Hartnett claims he was hired for a series of live recording sessions over the summer and was then invited to join Hill on tour, but he was reportedly cut from the autumn shows before they began, despite signing a 10-week contract.

According to TMZ.com , he has yet to receive payment for his music contributions, and insists he is entitled to at least half of the value of his touring agreement.

Hartnett is now demanding compensation for just over $ 11,500, in addition to damages.

The “Ex-Factor” hitmaker has been named as a defendant in the lawsuit, alongside her touring manager and her touring company bosses. They have yet to respond to the accusations.

It’s not clear which series of concerts Hartnett was recruited for, but Hill embarked on the “Powernomics Tour” with rapper Nas in September.

(AllHipHop News) Rap mogul Jay-Z has teamed up with streetwear designers at Fear of God to launch a clothing line inspired by his new album.

The collection was exclusively released at The House of God Pop-up Shop at luxury boutique Maxfield L.A. last night (December 21), hours before the “Empire State of Mind” hitmaker wrapped up the North American leg of his “4:44 Tour” at Los Angeles’ The Forum.

The range features black and white T-shirts, long-sleeved tops, hooded sweatshirts, a leather jacket, and hats, with the words “Fear of God” emblazoned across many of the pieces, which also include references to the Bible verse John 4:44.

The religious text, which states, “A prophet is without honor in his own country,” was agreed upon by both parties as it aligns with the theme of JAY-Z’s 4:44 album.

“From the wristbands and bandanas to the proportions, we wanted to modernize Jay’s approach and contribution to fashion through our lens,” Fear of God founder Jerry Lorenzo told Vogue . “Jay gave us feedback and direction along the way. He’s a true artist in every sense of the word.”

It’s not the first of Jay-Z’s releases to inspire a fashion line.

Retail bosses at Urban Outfitters also began selling a capsule collection based on the hip-hop icon’s 21-year-old debut album, Reasonable Doubt, last month.

Fans of the rapper have previously been able to share his style through his Rocawear clothing brand, which he co-founded in 1999 with his Roc-A-Fella Records business partner Damon Dash.

(AllHipHop News) Actress/media personality La La Anthony brought some holiday cheer to 250 students enrolled in the Girls Inc of NYC. On Thursday evening, a “Winter Wonderland” charity event for the non-profit organization was held at Gauchos Gym in The Bronx.

“I’m blessed to be in a position to use my time and resources to make a difference in young people’s lives. Not everyone can call their friends at Brand Jordan and Apple and ask for products to donate,” says Anthony. “It always feels good to give during the holiday season, but I think it’s even more important to give back to those who are not only less fortunate but who are working hard and deserve it.”

Jospeh Sikora, Michael Rainey Jr., A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Lil Yachty, 6ix9ine, Dave East, Young M.A, Maino, Jim Jones, Riplay, and Rico Nasty were also in attendance. DJ Clue provided music for the occasion. Top Pop soda, Eat Clean Bro, and BCakeNY donated food and refreshments.

La La was also presented with certificates of recognition by representatives from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s office. The Power star’s contributions will help Girls Inc of NYC achieve its mission to educate and inspire young women in order for them to succeed in college, in their careers, and in their communities.

“Girls Inc of NYC is so grateful to have our girls take part in this amazing event,” says Marketta McPherson, Program Associate of Non-profit, Girls Inc of NYC. ”There are so many negative images and stereotypes out there that we try to company and La La is a wonderful role model for our girls because she is a successful business owner, actress, and mother.

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Photos via The Chamber Group

(AllHipHop News) Lil Uzi Vert is the latest recording artist to live stream a special event via Tidal. Tonight (December 22), the “XO Tour Llif3” performer will broadcast his “A Very Uzi Xmas” concert from Philadelphia.

Previously, Lil Uzi Vert appeared on Tidal’s stream of the 2016 Made In America Festival. This year included the entertainment platform presenting exclusive live content from Common, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Vic Mensa, Cardi B, Jeezy, Kehlani, Iggy Azealia, Belly, and others.

“A Very Uzi Xmas” is scheduled to begin streaming at 9:30 pm ET/6:30 pm PT. Tidal members can watch the concert at tidal.com.

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(AllHipHop News) The two Black Panther trailers released by Marvel so far have featured Run The Jewels’ “Legend Has It” and Vince Staples’ “BagBak.” With a Hip Hop friendly director in Ryan Coogler at the helm, it would come as no surprise if the upcoming superhero motion picture is flavored with modern rap music.

So will an official Black Panther Hip Hop soundtrack be part of the movie’s roll-out? Kendrick Lamar gave a hint that a compilation project inspired by the story of the Wakanda king is in the works.

The TDE representative released the music video for his song “LOVE” featuring Zacari. At the 1:55 mark, a clapperboard appears with the words: “B.Panther,” “Soundtrack,” and “Coming Soon.”

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It’s already been reported that K. Dot’s “DNA” plays during a scene in the movie. Coogler and Black Panther lead actor Chadwick Boseman spoke about the T’Challa-Kendrick synergy at San Diego’s Comic-Con in July.

“As soon as I heard it on his album for the first time I said, ‘They should use that song,'” stated Boseman. “I just thought it would fit. I didn’t know if they’d do it or not, but I thought it was perfect.”

Coogler added, “The lyrics are amazing – a lot of Kendrick’s are.”

Music from movies was a trendy subject in 2017. Fifty Shades Darker Soundtrack, Beauty and the Beast Soundtrack, The Fate Of The Furious: The Album, Wonder Woman Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2, Baby Driver (Music from the Motion Picture), Star Wars: The Last Jedi Soundtrack, and Bright: The Album all made headlines this year.

Black Panther is scheduled for release on February 16. Swedish record producer Ludwig Göransson (Childish Gambino, Chance The Rapper) composed the film’s score.